Kimberly Elise is a Great Debater

Kimberly Elise will star in The Great Debaters, Denzel Washington’s period tale for he Weinstein Company now shooting in Louisiana.

Elise (TV’s “Close to Home”) plays the wife of Forest Whitaker in the pic, about an East Texas debate team that challenges Harvard in the 1930s. The recently cast Nate Parker plays their son, the star debater on the team. Washington is directing and plays the coach.

Oprah Winfrey and Kate Forte are producing through their Harpo films along with Todd Black and Joe Roth. Robert Elise wrote the screenplay based on a true story.

Elise and Parker both recently appeared in Pride. One of Elise’s first big screen roles was in Beloved opposite Winfrey.